


Various Short Stories

by TheEditingKiwiBird



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bad Puns, Dystopia, English, Essays, Future, Gen, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I Wrote This While Listening to Mother Mother, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Science Fiction, Terraforming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23434144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEditingKiwiBird/pseuds/TheEditingKiwiBird
Summary: This is just an assorted collection of stories I've written for fun, practice, or English class. I thought maybe some people on here would like it. :) There is also a fair bit of trash however, it's basically a writing dump.





	1. Pax

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short story I did in a writing club, it's not my favorite but it turned out okay.

Pax. Pax. was a place meant to combine the world’s people, language, area, culture, and lives. That’s why I can’t figure out how once again it has become a place where nobody can stop screaming at each other.  
Hello, my name is Adalee, I was named that because it’s supposed to mean noble, or angel, or something like that. Anyways, that's not really important language is dead. I’ve decided to keep a journal for you to read, to help you by telling you my story.  
First let me tell you about Pax: The Unifier of the World. In about 2135 a man that has since been dubbed “The Great Peacemaker” decided to use the newly found colony space on Mars as a chance to combine the world's entire populus as well as their culture. I know that this concept sounds strange, but he ultimately did accomplish his goal. He started by bringing his proposal to the U.N and though it didn’t appeal to the majority of the leaders there, it did pique the interest of two leaders; April Garcia, the President of Spain at the time and Michiru Sato, Japan’s president. The two both voiced their ideas about the proposal to the rest of the room, and more and more members started chiming in and adding to it. The discussion that formed between the members eventually turned into a complete plan, and a messy one. The plan entailed borders being dissolved and allowing the people of the world to travel freely. This ultimately didn’t do a lot because, with the high-tech security and travel devices widespread throughout the world, nothing in daily-life would truly be affected. The second aspect of the plan was what made the U.N. members more nervous, it would use a lot of resources, and would have to be a long term investment. The basic idea of it was to terraform planets like Venus and Mercury before shifting some of Earth’s population to these other planets. To make a long story short, by 2196 all of the terrestrial planets in the universe had been remodeled into the super-home called Pax. Thanks to the ever-lengthening life spans of humans the original founders of Pax including Mr. “Peacemaker” were still alive and well ready to take the next steps in the plan that had been taking decades out of their lives.  
The Oceans that were forming on most of the planets would provide enough clean water to serve the world. Now with the new resources from the planets and the extremely advanced technology from Earth, World hunger was poofed into nothing, humanity was flourishing, and it was time for the plan to advance. Political correctness was to be abolished, the fine lines between cultures were to be blurred, and all the world’s languages would be turned into one amalgam dialect called “Purifico'' pronounced “pear-a-FI-KO'' not “POR-EH-fee-ko”. This process took years and years of harsh government restrictions and rules including having to learn Purifico, having any creative output censored. and even the occasional assigned living arrangement which I can only believe was for some uh… breeding purposes. Are you asleep yet? Yeah, I know our history is not the most captivating thing in the entire multi-planet spanding world, but you should try sitting through the 540 school days it took to teach us all that. SO. Anyway, blah blah blah, a few thousand years later, blah blah blah, maybe two or three failed rebellions, and finally we’ve reached current day. Sweet, sweet, 6276, year of the pig, an election year, year of the 1569th Olympics, are we clear, good.

This morning it was cold outside, not cold enough to stop me from walking to school, but certainly cold enough that on that walk to school I had to pause to recharge my jacket several times. Solar power is amazing, but also extremely slow sometimes. The company that sells these jackets claims “it gives you time to look at the cool winter sky”, but I think that translates to “The heater battery won’t last longer than 20 minutes in any temperature under 20 degrees, but we’re too lazy to fix it”. I’ve heard my classmates claim that the only reason people really walk to school is “for the aesthetic” or “to seem unique”, but in reality, I just don’t like talking to the weird A.I. systems they have in the transport cars. I know the manufacturers are just trying to make it seem more human, but seriously having a cold unfeeling animatronic voice ask about your family just feels wrong. The front yard at my school is very neat and wears a beautiful emerald green color. Every blade of grass was perfect. Every speck of dirt was beautiful. I’m very glad I live on Earth rather than Mars or Venus. Don’t misunderstand me Mars is beautiful, it’s just that the natural life on Earth seems so deliberate like it was always meant to be there and we’re just making ourselves cozy with all of these structures. On the other hand, I some times feel like Mars is red because it’s angry at us for invading it. I like to think that in a few billion years when the sun explodes, and life in the Milky Way galaxy ceases as we know it, there will be a moment where all of the humans disappear from Mars and for a small moment the oxidation of the planet’s iron will reverse and it won’t be angry anymore. Although that just isn’t how science works, is it. Now as I was standing awkwardly in front of the entrance having this very same bizarre, cheesy train of thought I was quickly interrupted by my friend Mati pulling me into the building by the arm.  
“Common Ada, you promised you would help me study for my Calc. test before first period..” she whined as she continued to pull me in the direction of the library. Normally I would complain if someone started aggressively yanking me by the sleeve while yelling at me, but this wasn’t just “someone”, this was Mati. Mati short for Matinale has been my best friend since we were twelve. Things with Mati have always been very comfortable and simple. We tell each other everything, we’ve seen each other at our worst and most disgusting, and we still haven’t gotten sick of each other. There was a brief stint in our 13th year where Mati was exploring her sexuality and we kissed. NOPE. It turns out she was gay, but thankfully not for me (that would have made things a lot more awkward). The only glaring flaw about her was the fact that she was horrible with math. In our school system we start at age one and start doing algebra in 9th year, so by this point, the majority of kids have also taken their calculus classes before 15th year and moved on to Biomechanics or Engineering. Not Mati. She is still in Calculus one floating on a C+. For instance, at more than one point while studying with her she pronounced f(x) as “fixed” and lim. as “lime”, you know the fruit.  
In the middle of studying, I suddenly received an alert on my school-issued tablet saying the nurse needed to speak to me. It was clear Mati was annoyed, but this could’ve been important so I got up leaving my things in the library and quickly ran to the nurse's office (only hitting about three or four students on the way there). The door to the office had an outdated looking poster-screen on it peeling off at the corners that had a series of motivational quotes statically sitting on it. Sometimes the disconnect between teacher and student is so apparent, I wonder if they’re trying to antagonize us. The nurse then approached me with a nervous look on her face, in harsh contrast with her normally quite cheerful demeanor.  
“Your test results Adalee…” she paused, handing me some papers on a clipboard with large red letters all across them.  
“You have a mutation. You’re a venor.”


	2. The Tales of Sir Orange-Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This will be a short three part "series". The first part a brief introduction to him, the second an essay on him and his heroism, and the third an epilogue to his tale. I wrote the first two parts in sixth grade (I am now in ninth) when we had to create our own hero for an assignment. My friends and I all had this whole orange universe thing we had created before they kinda ditched me later. :/

Sir Orange has had one goal since he was a seed…..eradicate all orange-eating humans.He has been working towards this goal his whole life and has still not completed his goal.Sir Oranges main goal is to defeat all humans who have ever eaten an orange.Sir Orange has this goal because of his past.When he was a seed he heard of the humans committing genocide on all of orange kind and this lit a fire under him.He thought he could reason with the humans but they wouldn’t listen so he was forced to use physical force.After a point he realized there were no other options but to erase all of mankind.He has been called hypocritical but he believes if the humans have killed 1000s of generations of oranges then it's fine for him to destroy about 2 generations of humans.This goal has taken him 23 years since birth due to the existential number of humans.Of the 7 billion he has only killed 3...billion.No matter how long it takes Sir Orange will finish his goal because of how much it means to him.


	3. The Tales of Sir Orange-Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if the grammar in any of these is atrocious, I have not edited them from their original sixth-grade state.

Maya Angelou once said, “A hero is any person who's really intent on making this a better place for all people,”. Sir Oranges' philosophy will sometimes reflect this. Yes his goals can be more sinister than the average heroes but in the big picture, he’s just making the world a better place for all oranges. I believe in this quote because real heroes are never recognized for doing things that impact society in a positive way but for putting on a show. This shows me you don't always see the real heroes but rather see their mark left on society. For instance, Sir Oranges' mark would be saving generations upon generations of oranges but only a small percentage of oranges know everything he’s done. *****  
Sir Orange the Fighter has a personality like no other. He stands out from other heroes in important ways. Unlike any other hero, Sir Orange stands up for the orange kind. Although some of his traits could be seen as negative. An example of this is that he can be violent towards humans and/or other creatures that attempt to eat an orange. The violence led to him making a vow that every human daring to eat an orange in front of him will die by his hand. He believes the only payment for death is death, that killing another living being should be punished by being killed by another living being. He has slaughtered many households to save his people sometimes going too far. The people who live with him in The Undergrounds think his violent acts will eventually lead to a war but he just doesn’t care. Some aspects of his personality are less serious though like the fact he’s strange. During the monthly corn sacrifices, he always insists on eating the first and last kernel saying that a noble of the highest power should begin and finish the ceremony. One of the more bizarre things about Sir Orange is what he has dubbed his catchphrase. After an onslaught or battle he will simply stand there and in a loud obnoxious tone then belt out “THIS IS PARTICULARLY ORANGEY!”.He often says this to praise a story or song as well. The last of Sir Oranges' large character traits is his extremist attitude.I should make it clear Sir Orange isn’t an extremist per say but there have been…..eh…...incidents. There was one particular incident where he hid in a wall crevice for 6 months wanting to see if one man would eat an orange. He has also spent 5 years building a “Super Mega Amazing Awesome Totally Cool Human Capturing Machine”as he calls it.The machine can capture 1 human at a time then that alone takes 1 week. I’m also sorry to tell you I would interview Sir Orange here but he’s busy staking out a Whole Foods.The traits I stated about Sir Orange are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his personality and I hope you would like to go on with his story.*****  
Sir Orange has had one goal since he was a seed…..eradicate all orange-eating humans.He has been working towards this goal his whole life and has still not completed his goal.Sir Oranges main goal is to defeat all humans who have ever eaten an orange.Sir Orange has this goal because of his past.When he was a seed he heard of the humans committing genocide on all of orange kind and this lit a fire under him.He thought he could reason with the humans but they wouldn’t listen so he was forced to use physical force.After a point he realized there were no other options but to erase all of mankind.He has been called hypocritical but he believes if the humans have killed 1000s of generations of oranges then it's fine for him to destroy about 2 generations of humans.This goal has taken him 23 years since birth due to the existential number of humans.Of the 7 billion he has only killed 3...billion.No matter how long it takes Sir Orange will finish his goal because of how much it means to him.  
There are three major qualities Sir Orange The Fighter has that define him,his violent tendencies, his infatuation with the orange god,and the strange things he does.A particular time where he was violent was when he made a vow that every single person who dares to eat an orange in front of him shall die by his hand no matter what.He has also killed a human with only a single quarter and nothing else.He's also very strange.He has made a name for himself as the fighter and the crazy guy who lives down the street.After battles instead of screeching or yelling Victorious he simply says “THIS iS PARTICULARLY ORANGY!” alarming everyone around him.He has certain ideals about proper etiquette.During meals if he feels the need to speak he doesn’t bother to close his mouth spitting corn on everyone.No one can say anything to him because of his noble deeds but he still bothers literally everyone.One of his final qualities is his religious habits.He will stop everything and pray to the god at any point, during battles,eating,or even while sleeping.This religion helps him for as a seed the orange god granted him a form of immortality not allowing him to be injured but allowing him to die.These were some of SIr Oranges main character traits and qualities.


	4. The Tales of Sir Orange-Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one was written more recently during COVID-19 while I had nothing left to do. I was looking through old yearbooks when I noticed the note left by my English teacher on my sixth grade yearbook requesting a continuation of the Orange Saga. It was basically meant to be a story of what happened to my friends and me.

The last time I spoke of the Oranges of Fruitland, I was telling a story full of friendship, faith, and an obscene amount of Kinder Eggs. I am sorry to say at the moment I have no cheerful, adventurous story to relay to you, but rather a poignant, allegorical one. I am Sir Orange, and this is how Fruitland came to its final end. (Okay maybe take everything Sir Orange says with a grain of salt, this is only one side of the story, you know?) Now, let's pick up where we left off 2 years ago. The Orange God, Sir Orange, a Peasant Pineapple, and Herbert the Coconut lived in harmony, keeping Fruitland happy and healthy. Peasant Pineapple (We made up these names when we were 11 ok, give me a break) was always quite fond of the Orange God, not that Sir Orange and Herbert were not, it’s just that Peasant Pineapple could also lack boundaries sometimes, thus making the other fruits uncomfortable. Peasant Pineapple held the respect of the other fruits, so they tried to be blunt about it telling Peasant that it was mega-weird. Peasant listened to what they said but ultimately did not change his behavior causing some commotion between the leaders. As tensions rose, the kingdom was eventually split into two sections; The Oranges and The Tropical Fruits. In all honesty, the Orange God actually maintained an amicable relationship with both Peasant and Herbert, it’s just that Sir Orange never got along with Peasant because well Sir Orange was insecure, anxious, and had lets just say “Significant” Daddy issues.(Basically Sir Orange was not easy to deal with even on a good day.) Some smaller civil wars happened later in the larger produce area with the Potatoes an antagonizing, but an ultimately harmless group. Eventually, The two sides just stopped spending as much time with each other letting unhealed wounds fester more and more. The Orange kingdom was pretty chill, though not frequently expanding, it was known to be a strong empire. At some point, I can’t quite remember when Herbert the Coconut stepped up to the ambassador between the two kingdoms, initiating an era of peace between them. That was until *plays dramatic off-tune music on piano far louder than necessary* the Cabbage Kingdom stepped in. The cabbages were actually harmless I just wanted to do that. See the cabbage community was really into fermenting to become Kimchi and that was fine, Kimchi is tasty except that the cabbage Kingdom had recently lost a member to the carrots so they were looking for new recruits. Slowly, very slowly the Orange god transitioned into Kimchi. Sir Orange tried to pretend he was fine, he really did, but he just couldn’t shake the idea that it was his fault the Orange God left. Sir Orange had somewhat dug himself into a pit here, every time he blamed himself he strayed further from Orange God, and each time he strayed further from Orange God he blamed himself. Sir Orange had gotten himself into that pit, but by no means did he trap himself down there. He reached out for help, called out for help, and got nothing. (Ok so here's where Sir Orange has some not so good mental stuff that may or may not result in him beginning Zoloft, and O fuzzballs I just remembered I have a psychiatrist appointment at 4… nevermind). Sir Orange had felt very anxious, lonely, and depressed. This led to him self-zesting. (Ok I know this joke is in poor taste, I’m just trying to make light of real-life nasty shiz). Anyway, therapy and about 75 mg of Sertraline later Sir Orange is cool. Far later than it should have come in my opinion Orange God did apologize, but that certainly did not undo the damage. Orange God had reconnected with Peasant and they were both now happily living as Kimchi (to my knowledge). Sir Orange had remained friendly with Herbert and had made some new acquaintances, even if he still winced a little whenever he saw Kimchi.


	5. The Sufferfish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In seventh grade, we were supposed to create animals with pun names and then write a poem about them. I then painted a portrait of the pufferfish that I will add if I ever learn how to add photos here.

The Sufferfish

The Sufferfish just loves to bawl.  
The entire ocean hears it’s cry.  
It's horrid shrieks go out to all.  
It sounds as if it’s about to die.

The poor lonely fish likes to brood.  
It feels depressed and scared.  
It has a horrible attitude.  
It feels like its soul was torn and laird. 

The poor Sufferfish is constantly in pain.  
It's somehow foreboding, yet fearful.  
The fish around it are in disdain,  
being around it makes one rather tearful.


	6. Police Report

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was an assignment in seventh grade where we basically had to write a police report on a fake murder. FYI in place of my real last name, I have put Skywalker.

Dear Chief Gonzalez,  
Recently a few other officers and I took a call at the Volupides residence. I believed that you should hear my opinion on the case. When we got there we heard what seemed to be a young woman shrieking in terror. We rushed inside to immediately see Queenie Volupides standing over the body of her dead husband, hands on her cheeks with her makeup smeared. Arthur Volupides Queenie’s husband was face up lying back on the stairs his head on the floor with his feet pointing up on the 2nd and 3rd step. He had an empty glass in his left hand and was wearing a robe over a nice suit. The house was very ornate and beautiful with everything intact and neat, and not one speck of dust out-of-place. Queenie was panicking trying to mumble something to us, but it was very hard to understand. I find this paramount in importance to speak to you with for I believe Queenie might be lying about the story.  
When we eventually spoke to her she was in hysterics claiming her husband Arthur had fallen down the stairs drunk when coming down to get another drink. Queenie told us that her husband and he had planned to go to the club together, but got in a fight and Arthur stayed home while Queenie went out with her friends. Later that night Queenie apparently invited her friends to the house, in separate cars, Queenie arriving 10 minutes before her friends.  
We then sent Arthur’s body down to get an autopsy and the results came soon after. They confirmed that Arthur was drunk and that he had died from a head wound. According to Queenie’s story, it would make sense that Arthur was drunk and that he died from a head wound.  
Although the autopsy results line up with Queenie’s I don't believe all the evidence does, and I believe that Queenie Volupides is lying about what happened to her husband Arthur. First of all, assuming that if someone falls down the stairs he will let go of what's in hand to protect himself. Therefore we can also say that it is unlikely that Arthur would be able to keep the glass in his hand while he fell down the stairs and especially wouldn’t be able to keep it intact. This would mean that Queenie was lying about Arthur falling down the stairs due to the fact that he has a completely intact glass in his hand. Another piece of evidence was the fact that all of the candelabra and mirrors were not broken or evenly slightly askew. I believe that we can also say that when someone is falling down the stairs he will probably hit the wall and the things on it enough for them to move or break. This would also back up the point that Queenie is lying about her husband falling down the stairs,for Arthur did not harm or even slightly touch any of the items on the wall of the staircase. It’s also important to note that the intact glass that Arthur has is in his left hand (the hand which he would presumably use the grasp the railing). This glass would prevent the intoxicated Arthur from grabbing the railing thus making it unlikely that he would keep the glass in his left hand, for he would need to grab the railing. We can now say that when someone is drunk or intoxicated and going down a presumably dangerous flight of stairs he would let go of an object o switch which hand he is holding it in to clutch the railing for help. This tells us once more that Queenie was lying about Arthur falling down the stairs. Overall the majority of the evidence is pointing towards the conclusion that Queenie is lying about Arthur falling down the stairs.  
In conclusion, I think that Queenie needs to be questioned further and we should interrogate and look over possible suspects that could have had something against Arthur. It is clear this was NOT a trip and fall, this was at the very least manslaughter. I believe if the investigation proves Queenie guilty of manslaughter she won’t be facing much time due to her manipulative words and her charming facade. This will hopefully get to the bottom of the case ,but if it doesn’t further investigations are in line. 

Hoping to continue speaking about this soon,  
Officer Skywalker


	7. Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was another seventh-grade assignment, where we were supposed to expand upon one of our journal entries.

My journal entries were umm.. I’ll say unorganized. So I’ve decided to expand upon a subject that I spoke about in one of them which was Cookies. Cookies aren’t very interesting but I plan to make them interesting with the stories surrounding them.   
FIrst I would like to make something clear; the most important part of a cookie is butter. You can act like it's the chocolate, or the sugar, or the spices. If you think It’s not the butter you're lying to yourself, let’s review: chocolate chip cookies - butter, chocolate cookies - butter, ginger snaps - butter. Let's be clear if the cookie isn't vegan then the thing that makes it a “cookie” is butter. I know, I know “Who cares about butter?!”. I do. Now that I’ve made my point how about I tell you about when I made cookies without butter. VEGAN COOKIES; the bane of my existence, the rock like biscuits that my no-dairy friend demanded. I had been making chocolate chip cookies for my friends when this girl “Generic Girl Name So I Don’t Use Her Real Name” said that she couldn’t have dairy so I thought I would be nice and make a vegan batch. When I got home I hopped on the computer to look up vegan cookie recipes and printed the first one that came up. When it came to baking with me it was never talent it was more of a hobby so I thought who am I to judge this recipe that uses a surplus of almond milk and what amounts to what seems like a hand full of baking soda. So I mixed the cookie dough using the right amount of every ingredient slowly mixing them with a spatula and what I got was not cookie dough but what seemed like an off-yellow chunky cake batter. Again I decided that I had no right to judge this recipe and I popped small balls of the batter onto a baking tray and threw it in the oven. The smell of them baking went quickly from toasted almonds to harsh, old, expired maraschino cherries. When I took them out of the oven with my oven mitt over my face they looked like burnt scones with chocolate chunks nothing necessarily inedible just not something someone would think of when they heard “cookie”. Once more I said that I had no right to even think that it was even the recipes fault, so I packaged them up with some thin shiny plastic wrap encasing the intolerable smell that came from them. I think it is pretty needless to say that I did not try one of those cookies. Instead I used my brother as a guinea pig because that's what a good sister would so obviously do. I think I'll skip over the elongated speech about how horrible the cookies were given by him and go to where I throw them out. WOOHOO! The next day at school I told my friend that I was sorry that I could not produce the lactose-free cookies that she wanted. She seemed to be fine with it but I still felt bad that I could not provide them for her. So now I hope I have gotten my point across that COOKIES. NEED. BUTTER.


	8. Debate Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again this is a seventh-grade assignment. We had to debate that Tom Sawyer's setting would have been a better one to grow up in then the current time period at the time. I worked on this with two other friends.

`OPENING STATEMENT:  
The 21st century, a time full of freedom and equal rights, with advanced technology, smarter people and constant peace. Racism has been eradicated . Well that is if you believe that nazis marching down streets in Charlottesville doesn’t count as racism, or if you believe that the war in Afghanistan doesn’t really count. Maybe you think the large amount of people in the world that think the Earth is flat a progression in society. Oh, I know you’re just impressed by the technological advances we’ve made in creating nuclear weapons to annihilate other countries expecting war. The 1800s were certainly not a perfect time in American history, but at the very least they were a good time to have a childhood. In this day and age children’s mental health is plummeting with more and more kids being medicated for depression, anxiety, many other mental conditions. We consider a child someone under 1９ and we consider a 21st century childhood anyone who was born after 1991 as it means they had the majority of their childhood in the 21st century. On top of that things like climate change and deforestation ensure that the Earth won’t be a place to build a treehouse, go treasure hunting or participate in any other fun outdoor childhood traditions. In the book Tom Sawyer we see kids who barely understand what marriage is, not understanding the meaning of “swears”, and misunderstanding violent acts. In the 21st century almost all kids over the age of 10 can list most profanities off the top of their head, while also believing they have a full understanding of marriage, and have seen enough violent movies to write one themselves. Kids in the 1800s seemed more innocent due to their lack of given information on said topics. In the 21st century it takes one quick google search or even just enough TV and that child could be scarred for life. Though the 21st century has advanced technology and healthcare the 1800s were a more wholesome time making an 1800s childhood and a 21st century childhood equal.

CONTENTION 1:  
Socializing with other children is a key part of a person’s childhood, especially as the child is developing. Interaction has a direct link to a child’s self-esteem, confidence and mental health in general. Nowadays in the 21st century, technology is a large part of people’s lives with 95% of people in the US having a mobile phone and 90% of children under high school age having a cellphone. According to parents of children under 6, 72% of their children get too much screen time while 67% don’t engage in enough active play and 52% have physical issues as a result of technology use. Although it could be argued that parents of children under 6 may just be inexperienced and not know how to control technology use, as they get older and gain freedom most children would continue on getting too much screen time. Children that don’t experience enough face-to-face socialization and only send messages through a phone lack the ability to show emotion which help people interact with each other, and develop the social skills they need to be in a professional workplace with other people. In addition to social skills, excessive cell phone use is a contributing factor in poor mental health, specifically depression. From 2012 to 2015, depression in 12th grade boys went up 21% while depression in girls increased 50%. According to a study by the University of Gothenburg, people spending more time on electronics than the average person shows disinterest in usual activities and other symptoms of depression. Inability to communicate and mental disorders contribute to a worse childhood than the friendships and adventure that goes on in Tom Sawyer.

CONTENTION 2:  
One thing we value in childhood is health. Obesity is becoming an increasingly problematic issue in the United States. Currently, 1 in 5 kids in the age range 6-11 are considered overweight or obese. The obesity in American children ages 2-19 is at 18.5%. Childhood obesity leads to an earlier death in adulthood. The leading causes for obesity these days are the foods people eat nowadays, which are often high in sugar and fat, as well as addictions to junk food, certain medications, food availability, which is mostly made up of junk food, and misinformation. Many websites oversimplify or misunderstand the results of scientific studies and statistics, then spread inaccurate, or even incorrect information about nutrition. In Tom Sawyer’s time, kids his age would be satisfied with an apple or some other sweet fruit if they wanted a treat, which is much healthier than an excessive amount of candy or ice cream, and the internet wasn’t there back then to spread misinformation about health. Back then, you knew for sure what was healthy and what wasn’t, and kids in that time were satisfied with healthier, simpler treats. They were less picky than kids are now. According to a survey from the Erikson Institute, 67% of parents noticed that their children under age 6 were spending less time outside because of technology.. Less time outside means less active play, which causes children to not get the amount of exercise they should be getting. This also leads to child obesity. Also, these days, teens are posting things on social media on promia and proana. Eating disorders are awful for your health, yet teens still do this, which encourages people to have eating disorders, primarily bulimia and anorexia.

REBUTTALS:  
Blocks:  
Block #1: No matter how blatant racism and sexism were in Tom Sawyer’s time it isn’t as if those issues have disappeared. The KKK STILL exists in today’s time, the only difference is that now everyone (including police forces) KNOW they exist and do nothing about it whereas in the 1800s it was thought of as more of a rather uncommon and dubious practice. There is also plenty of sexism in today’s time with the wage gap still being a problem amongst the majority of female workers. The truth is these humans rights issues haven’t completely disappeared they’ve just been swept under the rug and covered in a positive facade.

Block #2: Even though the statistics for the amount of exercise kids were getting was for ages under 6 which does not match with Tom Sawyer’s age, kids his age too should be getting about the same amount of exercise. Also, younger kids generally get more exercise, since they have less work to do and most of their time is spent playing and/or running around. If 67% of kids in that age group are getting less exercise because of technology these days, and as kids get older, they get more access to technology, that means chances are that a kid living in the 21st century would be getting even more of a decrease of exercise that he/she should be getting. 

Block #3:   
Even though health care has certainly improved greatly since Tom Sawyer’s time, thanks to vaccines, your best childhood memories won’t be getting vaccines to prevent diseases. We’re not saying vaccines aren’t important to keep you alive, but what you look for in a good childhood would be something along the lines of good memories, spending time with friends and family, etc. 

Block #4:   
Cell phones are believed to be a positive of the 21st century saying they could be useful when a child needs to call there parents from school. This however was never a problem in the 1800s because kids could walj back and forth from school easily due to the smaller sizes of towns. There are also problems with young children and phones because many companies like to create apps and games that coerce children into spending their parents money through in-app purchases.

Block #5: Even though people and kids living in the United States live much more comfortable lives then in Tom Sawyer’s time, that doesn’t necessarily mean a better childhood. Today, the comforts that we enjoy, mainly technology, cause a lot of people to interact less in person with others, as well as becoming lazier. Back then, children were very active, and the primary source of entertainment was playing and/or exploring outside, as well as mischief.

Sources:  
https://www.erikson.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Erikson-Institute-Technology-and-Young-Children-Survey.pdf  
https://childrenscampus.com/blog/importance-socialization-kids/  
https://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/  
https://lakesidebhs.com/mental-health/smartphones-and-anxious-kids-mental-health-issues-and-the-igeneration/  
https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/10/16/u-s-obesity-rates-have-hit-an-all-time-high-infographic/#4f23001a4bad   
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-causes-of-weight-gain  
https://www.erikson.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Erikson-Institute-Technology-and-Young-Children-Survey.pdf  
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/klansville-faq/  
http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/langofracism2.html  
https://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/  
https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/  
https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forest-degradation  
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/17/kids-in-app-purchases-apps-parents


	9. We Can Make A Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was a one-minute-play I wrote in eight grade drama.

WE CAN MAKE A CASE   
By: Lucy D’Urso

Setting: a small room off the side of a court room during Devante’s trial for murder consulting their plan

(Devante and Thomas are sitting on opposing sides of a table in chairs)

THOMAS BARKER  
You know? You didn’t have to kill him.

DEVANTE BRUH  
He was in my apartment, I felt threatened.

THOMAS BARKER  
He was your land lord. You hadn’t been paying rent.

DEVANTE BRUH  
The point is he invaded my personal space. I felt that I needed to take action in order to stay alive.

THOMAS BARKER  
THEN WHY DID YOU REMOVE HIS HANDS TOO!?!

DEVANTE BRUH  
His hands were the threatening part…

THOMAS BARKER  
Was his small intestine threatening too?

DEVANTE BRUH  
*small thoughtful pause* yes.

THOMAS BARKER  
Ok, so what you’re saying is; when your landlord walked into your apartment I assume he wanted rent, he was angry,threatening, violent, you felt like in order to defend your life you needed to attack him, and in the aftermath of the moment while you were still going off the fear and adrenaline you… *achem* removed his hands and small intestine to help you regroup.

DEVANTE BRUH  
Yeh.

THOMAS BARKER  
Ok, you know what we can work with this.


	10. Upon The Stairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was a little writing exercise I did based on the time I forgot to eat for a few days and basically fell over on my way to lunch. I think I wrote in between seventh and eighth grade.

My stomach snaps me out of my daze with a sharp pain and a loud rumbling, my mind immediately begins trying to remember what I’ve had to eat today. As my brain is going through it's roledex of memories searching for any remnant of a meal I hardly realize class has ended and the rest of my classmates have started filing out of the classroom. I can hear my teacher prattling on about the homework as my friends chat amongst themselves. Ow! I’m met again by the sharp pain in my stomach, when I realize how hungry I am. When was the last time I ate? Did I have lunch? Did I even have breakfast? Yesterday I was too consumed in my schoolwork to even leave my dorm room. Does that mean I haven’t eaten anything since- I hold myself upright against the walls of the hallway as a wave of light-headedness comes over me. Students rush pass me towards the cafeteria downstairs. Yes! That's it. It’s lunch period. All I need to do is make it to the cafeteria, and then I can eat. Then I’ll be fine, that’s all I need to do. It is only now that I realize I am alone in the halls, my classmates no doubt having passed me as I stood stagnant in the halls figuring out my game plan. I slowly make my way to the staircase immediately gripping the banister and shifting my weight onto it. I still move slowly as to not give myself a head rush when I’m this woozy. My foot touched the third step when I felt it, the dizziness. My body haulted, and I could not will myself to move anymore. My hand slipped from the bannister and fell upon my chest as my back fell along the steps and my head hit the the floor with a harsh “thud”. My unmoving body lay on the stairs as my conciousness fades and my vision goes black. I believe it is safe to say that I will not be making it to the cafeteria today.


	11. Lonesome Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this when I got really into the song "Lonesome Town" after it was featured in "The End of the Fucking World". So I wrote it whenever that show came out ig.

Harold knew he would wind up here eventually. He knew all the wandering around his old apartment would end at her. No matter how many times Harold told himself he was just trying to visit his old favorite shops, or take in the nostalgic atmosphere, he knew he just went there for Aleida. Harold was so mad at the weather that day. Bright, blue skies. Luscious green grass peeking over the edges of a recently repaved sidewalk. He felt as if the world had forgotten the fate that fell upon his wife, and he was the only person left who could remember her. He started marching down the sidewalk with purpose, finally ready to see her, Aleida, his wife. Then he finally saw her, through the black bars surrounding the cemetery, in a golden picture frame that sat upon a drab tombstone. Tears welled in his eyes making it harder to see her face and giving him a sore pain in his chest. Harry’s visits to his wife often went like this, always leaving him exhausted for the rest of the day. However he always feels a strange weight lifted off of him once he exits the cemetery. A feeling of relief as he exited dreaded lonesome town.


	12. The Incredibly Sad Men and Boys of Omegle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok this is literally just a series of me trolling people on Omegle during COVID. I would copy and paste them into the same document whenever I had a good encounter sooooo here ya go

Stranger: M 14 horny send snap if u a f  
You: i am f  
You: and 14  
Stranger: Snap or phone number?  
You: but im not a desperate fuck like you  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: Hey  
You: Hey  
You: What it do?  
Stranger: Lol im just masturbating wbu  
You: I am not masturbating.  
Stranger: Then what are u doing  
You: basically just chilling watching Netflix  
Stranger: Oh cool  
Stranger: Maybe I can show you some more of what I'm doing if u want  
You: haha no  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: Hey  
You: Hey  
Stranger: Am I the only one who masturbates to jin's boner?  
You: Yes.  
Stranger: Lol really ?  
Stranger: U don't ?  
You: I do not, no.  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: Sksksksksksks  
You: sksksksksksksksk  
Stranger: Okay GuRl  
Stranger: You like namtiddies?  
You: pArDOn?  
Stranger: Tehehehehehehe  
You: Namjoon with titties???  
Stranger: Namtiddies  
You: oh jesus christ  
You: im scared  
Stranger: Namjoon's tiddies  
You: HE HAS TIDDIES  
Stranger: YES  
You: IM CONCERNED  
Stranger: YOU STILL DIDN'T KNOW THAT?  
Stranger: BRUH  
You: imma go google sum shiz  
Stranger: I hope you know about Yoongi booty  
You: I believe those are called pectoral muscles  
You: not namtiddies  
You: sorry to burst your bubble  
You: I am aware of Yoongies....well endowed behind.  
Stranger: Welp- OOF  
You: It looked at me first I swear.  
You have disconnected.

Stranger: Hey  
You: Hey  
Stranger: M or f  
You: f  
Stranger: Age  
You: 14  
Stranger: U thic?  
You: that's a relative term  
Stranger: Like r ur boobs big  
You: r urs?  
Stranger: I’m m  
You: question still stands bruh  
Stranger: No  
You: No deal, my man.  
You have disconnected.

Stranger: Hey m14 u  
You: f14  
Stranger: Horny u  
You: a minor  
You: the key signature  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: M16 wanting to trade nudes? I will send cumming vids with sound. Add my snap (his @ that I almost forgot to take out)  
Stranger: ???  
You: you reek of sadness  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: nudes?  
You: nudes?  
Stranger: yes  
Stranger: m or f  
Stranger: I'm m  
You: f  
Stranger: snap?  
You: Are you thicc tho?  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: m age  
You: f 14  
Stranger: 16 lets play t or d  
You: ok?  
Stranger: t or d  
You: t  
Stranger: ass?  
You: Am I an ass?  
You: Do I have an ass?  
Stranger: do u have cakes?  
You: oooohhh  
You: sure  
Stranger: good  
You: t or d  
Stranger: t  
You: Do you cry yourself to sleep at night?  
Stranger: no  
Stranger: t or d  
You: t  
Stranger: naughty or innocent  
You: I know about stuff because of the internet but I am literally anything but experienced  
Stranger: good girl  
You: no  
You: t or d  
Stranger: t  
You: Are you deeply ashamed of who you are?  
Stranger: no  
Stranger: t or d  
You: d  
Stranger: smack ur booty once  
You: tf no  
You: t or d  
Stranger: d  
You: Commit Genocide.  
You: Do it pussy.  
Stranger: t or d  
You: d  
Stranger: help me cum  
You: No.  
Stranger: tell me how you'd make me cum  
You: I would sit in the corner and call the po-po because some strange creepy 16 teen year old was trying to get me to touch his peepee.  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: M or f  
You: f  
Stranger: Age?  
You: 14  
Stranger: M1;  
Stranger: 14  
Stranger: Can I get your snap?😅  
You: I don't give 1 year olds my snap  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: M  
You: f  
Stranger: Age  
You: 14  
Stranger: Im horny im sorry  
You: ok?  
Stranger: Yea  
You: Why you sorry?  
Stranger: Because im horny  
You: Most human beings get horny  
Stranger: Oh ok  
Stranger: U got Snapchat?  
You: yee  
Stranger: Can i get it  
You: haha no  
Stranger: Y not  
You: cause how old are you pervy?  
Stranger: 18  
You: you see that technically constitutes pedophilia  
You: thats Y not  
Stranger: I will rip what are you have on and fuck the tight little pussy  
You: My cat does not appreciate the violence  
You: He didn't consent to this.  
Stranger: I don't care  
You: Well you're paying for the vet bills  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: Hey m  
You: hey f  
Stranger: Age?  
You: 14  
Stranger: Yikes  
You: fyi the f stands for "fuck you"  
Stranger: New teenager  
You: and I mean 14 months  
Stranger: Lmaoo calm down  
Stranger: It's the estrogen  
Stranger: Oh to be 14  
Stranger: Jerking off 24/7  
Stranger: I miss it  
Stranger: Enjoy the hairless pussy for noe  
You: You dont understand what estrogen does, do you?  
Stranger: You're still fairly new to it  
Stranger: Tight lil puss  
You: Why does every one keep talking about my cat.  
You: Leave him alone.  
Stranger: Lolll  
Stranger: Man you couldn't leave your pussy alone for a day  
You: Well yea hed starve dumb dumb  
Stranger: Aighttt  
You: How old are you Shane?  
Stranger: 17  
You: or is it Jared?  
Stranger: Jared sounds good  
You: the pedo from subway  
Stranger: Oh yeah how'd you know  
You: you’re getting butt trucked in prison now  
Stranger: Wow  
You: have fun  
Stranger: Aight you too take it slow  
You: I prefer to say "I harass people looking for underaged hookups"  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: Hey m20  
You: hey f way too young for you  
Stranger: How old?  
You: 14  
Stranger: I’m actually 18 but I say 20 because people are usually older  
You: I say 14 but I'm actually 2 and a half  
Stranger: But still a little young though are you straight lesbian or bi  
You: bi  
Stranger: That’s cool  
Stranger: You got snap?  
You: I have a snap  
Stranger: Wanna swap nudes?  
You: Nigerian  
Unicycling  
Deranged  
Elephants  
You: No I like the ones I have  
Stranger: Wym😂  
You: I mean you're an adult and I'm fourteen so fuck off  
Stranger: What bra size are you?  
You: The same bra size as ur mom  
Stranger: That’s rude  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: M  
You: f  
Stranger: Age?  
You: 14  
Stranger: 16  
Stranger: Horny?  
You: nr  
Stranger: Snap?  
You: nope  
Stranger: Insta?  
You: nope  
Stranger: Anything?  
You: noperoo  
Stranger: That sucks  
Stranger: Do your parents not let you or are you no comfortable letting strangers know  
You: I live in the trees.  
You: I killed a baby raccoon last week just for sustenance.  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: M  
You: f  
Stranger: Age?  
You: 14  
Stranger: Horny!  
Stranger: ?*  
You: I actually prefer it with the exclamation point.  
Stranger: Horny!  
You: Just yell horny at people until it works.  
Stranger: HORNY  
You: Anyway, no I am not.  
Stranger: Fuck  
You have disconnected.

Stranger: m  
You: f  
Stranger: age  
You: 14  
Stranger: 18  
Stranger: from  
You: the US  
You: hotel?  
Stranger: ??  
You: TRIVAGO  
Stranger: u got snap  
You: yee  
Stranger: what id  
Stranger: is it  
You: @fuckoffcreepystranger  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: Hey m14 horny  
You: hey f14 bored  
Stranger: Down to trade?  
You: trade what?  
You: pokemon cards, hell yeah  
You: underaged nudes, not really  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: Hey m 14  
You: f 14  
Stranger: Snap??  
You: why?  
Stranger: Just to be friends  
Stranger: Maybe friends with benefits  
Stranger: (another @ I forgot to remove)  
You: I dont want to ✨fuck you✨  
Stranger: I never said that  
Stranger: I don’t know where u live  
You: friends with benefits?  
You: what are those benefits  
You: a wegmans gift card  
Stranger: Nudes i mean nudes  
You: I would prefer the Wegmans gift card  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: Hey m  
You: hey f  
Stranger: 16  
You: 14  
Stranger: Heya.  
You: heya  
Stranger: Wanna see my 10 inch cock?  
You: wanna see MY 10 inch cock?  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: Hi  
You: hi  
Stranger: M  
You: f  
Stranger: 14  
You: same  
You: 15 in a month  
Stranger: Nice  
Stranger: Happy early birthday  
You: thanks dude  
Stranger: Np  
Stranger: So umm  
You: yeah?  
Stranger: Wanna see my 🍆  
You: Your eggplant?  
You: sure  
You: Your dick?  
You: no gracias  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: Hey m 15  
You: f14  
Stranger: Where u from  
You: the US  
Stranger: Same LA  
You: Massachusetts  
You: whatsup  
Stranger: Oh  
Stranger: U a freak ?  
You: sure  
Stranger: I’m Lowkey hard rn  
You: Im uhh not  
Stranger: U tryna help ? 👀😳  
You:?  
Stranger: We can exchange pics and I’ll send u a cum vid when I cum  
Stranger: I’ll cum to ur pics  
You: ok what about this:  
Stranger: ?  
You: I steal 400 ducklings from all over the world, teach them to kill my enemies, and then conquer the world with them AND THEn I hire a prostitute to fuck you  
You: cause your peen yucky  
Stranger: My peen is pretty big and you will like it in ur pussy  
Stranger: Fuck u till u squirt everywhere  
You: dont touch my cat  
Stranger: Cum in ur ass  
You: he just had an ear infection  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: M  
You: f  
Stranger: Age  
You: 15  
Stranger: Horny??  
You: sure  
Stranger: Snap for nudes?  
You: I just snapped my fingers, now what?  
Stranger: Wanna see my dick?  
You: Spotted Dick?  
Stranger: Big dick  
You: The British dessert?  
Stranger: Snap??  
You: I already did.  
Stranger: Are you horny?  
You: like I said, sure  
Stranger: Wanna send me some🍑?  
You: peaches?  
You: those arent in season  
Stranger: Your Vagina  
You: What about it?  
Stranger: Send it to me  
You: I'm not cutting my vagina off.  
You: just to mail it to some stranger  
Stranger: By you are ass hole;(  
You: Who is "You Are Asshole" and why is he taking credit for writing this conversation?  
Stranger has disconnected.

Stranger: Hi  
You: Hi  
Stranger: M or f  
You: f  
Stranger: She  
Stranger: Age  
You: 15  
Stranger: M 15  
Stranger: You got snap  
You: I do  
Stranger: What is it  
You: @urmomstitties  
Stranger: But what is it for real  
You: @urdadstitties  
Stranger: Come on  
You: I come on Omegle to use Omegla ya' dink  
Stranger: I am horny  
You: I dont care  
Stranger has disconnected.


End file.
